Transportation-car and the like.



B. A. HEGEMAN, JR.

TRANSPORTATION CAR AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 25, 1910.

1,008,033, Patented Now?, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA FLANDGRAPM C0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

B. A. HEGEMAN, JR. TRANSPORTATION GAR AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. z5, 19.10.

Patentedl Nv. 7, 1911` v2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CnuJlIIA FLANOOBAMI CO..WASHM10N.D.C

BENJAMIN A. I-IEGEMAN, JR., OF NORTH PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

TRANSPORTATION-CAR AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 7, 1911.

Application filed August 25, 1910. Serial No. 578,877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN A. I-Iiicn MAN, J r., a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of North Plainfield, in the'county ofSomerset and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Transportation-Cars and the Like, of which the followingis a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in transportation cars and thelike, and it consists in the novel mechanism hereinafter described forsecurely locking the bottom-door operating-gear of the car againstmovement tending to open or permit the opening of the door or doorsduring the travel of the car and also in instances in which the car maybe bodily elevated and inverted for discharging its contents.

Ordinarily hopper-bottom cars have had discharge doors equipped withdoor-gear mechanism operable by a shaft connected by a link or links ora chain with such mechanism for opening and closing the doors, and atthe side of these cars has been provided mechanism of thepawl-andratcliet order for locking the operating shaft stationary, withthe doors closed. It is, of course, of t-hc utmost importance that theoperating shaft be securely locked station` ary at all times when it isnot desired that the doors shall open. The jarring of a car during itstravel and the weight on thel doors have a strong tendency to cause thedoors to open, and heretofore means reasonably adequate but not as safeas they could be made, have been provided to secure the doors in closedposition. The means heretofore provided for locking the operating shaftare not efficient for their intended purposes when a car equipped withthem is bodily inverted to discharge its load.

The object of my invention is to provide the car and door-gearoperating-shaft with very effective means for locking said shaftstationary during the travel of the car and also during its bodilyinversion.

'Ihe invention will be fully understood from the detailed descriptionhereinafter presented, reference being had to the ac` companyingdrawings, in which: i

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a hopper or self-clearingcarA provided with bottom discharge doors and door-*gear operating-shaftlocking mechanism embody` ing my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sideelevation of a portion of the same, this figure showing moreparticularly the end of nism therefor; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionthrough a portion of the car along the line of the operating-shaft; andFig. 4 is a the operating-shaft and the locking mechatransverse sectionon the dotted line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, 10 designates a portion of a self-clearing car havingpairs of downwardly and outwardly opening hin 'ed doors 11, whoseopening and closing mec ianism may be of varied character and iscontrolled, for each pair of doors, by a transverse operating-shaft 12mounted in bearings in a center-sill 13 and in the side structure of thecar, as shown in Fig. 3. The shaft 12, in theconstruction shown, isprovided with a sprocket wheel 14 to receive the usual chain by which,when the operating shaft is located to one side of the doors, the motionof the shaft is communicated to the gear directly connected with thedoors.

I do not deem it necessary to specifically describe in this applicationany definite chainoperated door-gear, since my invention is not limitedto the details of the door-gear,

but as an illustration of a chain-operated i* The shaft 12 has on itsouter end a ratchet wheel 15 provided with a deep notch 1G to receivethe free end of a pawl 17 when the doors 11 reach their closed position.The wheel 15 is not in itself of unusual construction and operation andtherefore requires no specific description. The pawl 17 is pivotallysecured at its -upper end, on a bolt 18, and when it is freed from itsrestraining means it may be swung over against the inclined faces of theteeth of the ratchet 15 y and be thereby rendered inoperative for retarding the rotation of the shaft then the pawl 17 is in the positionshown in Fig. 2, it locks the wheel 15, shaft 12 and doors 11, thelatter being at the time closed, stat ionary.

For the purpose of locking the pawl 17 in the notch 16 of the ratchetwheel 15, l provide a dog 19 pivotally secured on a bolt 2() andprovided with a convex outer edge 21 to engage the upper side of thepawl. rlhe dog 19 may be turned upwardly and toward the left (looking atlfig. 2) and thus free the pawl to be swung upwardly and toward theright from operative engagement with the ratchet wheel. The dog 19 isprovided with a handle 22 for convenience in manipulating it and ispivoted at one side of its center so that it may have a normal tendencyto remain in a locking position against the pawl 17 when the car is inan upright position. The dog 19 would, however, unless means forpreventing the same is provided, fall away from the pawl 17 and allowthe latter to leave the ratchet-wheel 15 when the car is bodilyinverted. There might also be some conditions under which, while in anupright position, the dog 19 might be jarred upwardly, unless means forpreventing the same is provided, from the pawl 17. ln accordance with myinvention I construct the dog 19 with a lower hookmember 2? openingupwardly and on the side of the car l secure a slidable as well aspivoted latch-bar 2st having at its upper end a downwardly extendinghook-member 25 to interlock with the hook member 23 of the dog 19, asshown in Fig. 2. The latchbar 24 is held at its lower end upon a bolt26, which passes through a slot 27 in said bar and allows the bar tohave not only a pivotal. movement butV a sliding movement determined bythe length of the slot 27. The latchv bar 24 is also provided with ahandle or knob 2S for convenience in sliding or manipulating it. Thehook members 23, so interlock when the parts are in their operativeposition, that by no possibility could the dog 19 be jarred, during thetravel of the car, from engagement with the pawl 17, and likewise duringany inversion of the car the hook member 25 will restrain the dog 19from leaving the pawl 17. In the construction presented the latch-bar 24normally inclines toward the dog 19 and pawl 17 and the engaging ends ofthe hook-members 23, 25 lap by and engage each other at their innersides, with the result that any tendency of the dog 19 to turn from thepawl 17 whether during the travel or the inversion of the car, will actto pull laterally against the upper end of the latch bar 24 and causesaid bar to grip the dog and restrain itfrom turning unduly from itslocking position. The dog 19 may have some latitude of movement withoutpermitting the pawl 17 to lose its engagement with the deep notch 1G ofthe ratchet-wheel, but the latch bar 24- coacting with the dog willprevent the latter from ever losing its operative relation to the pawl17, except when said bar is manually moved to disengage its hook-member25 from the hook member 23 of the dog.

Vhen it is desired to release the pawl 17 from the ratchet-wheel 15preparatory to the dumping of the car through the doorways in the bottomthereof, the attendant will move the latch bar 24 upwardly and in wardlyalong the entrance edges of the hookn member 23 and then turn saidlatch-bar 24 outwardly or toward the left, looking at Fig. 2, so as torelease the dog 19, and thereupon the dog 19 may be swung outwardlytoward the left to release the pawl 17, after which the pawl 17 will bethrown upwardly and toward the right away from the notch 1G of theratchet-wheel. This condition of the parts would leave the operatingshaft 12 free to be rotated by means of a crow-bar or other tool, asusual, for causing the doorgear connected with the doors to permit theopening of the latter and the discharge of the contents of the car.After the car has been discharged of its contents, the operating shaft12 is given a reverse motion for the purpose of effecting, through thedoorgear, the closing of the doors. After the doors have been closed thepawl 17 will be returned to engagement with the ratchet 15, the dog 19moved into position against the pawl 17 and the latch bar 24 returned toits engaging relation with the dog 19, the parts thus being restored totheir condition shown in Fig. 2. In the event that the car is to bedumped by being bodily inverted, the pawl, dog and latch bar are left intheir relative positions shown in Fig. 2, and during such inversion ofthe ear the latch-bar 24: will prevent the clog from swinging from thepawl, so that upon the restoration of the car to its normal uprightposition, the pawl, dog and latch bar will be found to be in theiroperative relation to one another shown in Fig. 2, any tendency of thedog 19 during the inversion of the car to materially leave the pawl 17being checked by the pull of the hook member 23 of the dog against thehook member 25 of the latch-bar, which will retain its grip on said dog.

During the inversion of the car, the dog 19 will, under the force ofgravity, fall to the extent permitted by the reasonable clearanceallowed around the bolt 20 and in so doing just clear the surface of thepawl 17 and, by means of the hook 23, draw the bar 24C with it, the slot27 permitting this slight sliding movement of the bar with the dog.`When, under the inversion of the car, the dog 19 falls slightly anddraws the latch bar 24 with it, there is then not enough clearance inthe end of the slot 27 at the end of said bar to permit the bar to fallaway from the hook 23 and as a consequence the latch-bar holds the dog19 stationary, with the hooks 23, 25 firmly interlocked, in suchrelation to the pawl 17 that the latter could not leave the deep notchof the wheel 15 even should there be a tendency for it to do so. It is avery desirable feature of the invention that upon the restoration of thecar to its upright position, the pawl, dog and latch bar are found to bein their operative relation to one another.

Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. Car door operating gear comprising a main operating shaft having aratchet, a pawl on the car to engage said ratchet for locking said shaftagainst rotation, a dog engaging said pawl for locking it against theratchet and having a hook-member, and a latch-bar on the car having ahook-member to interlock with the hook-member'on the dog; substantiallyas set forth.

2. Car door operating gear comprising a main operating shaft having aratchet, a pawl on the car to engage said ratchet for locking said shaftagainst rotation, a dog engaging said pawl for locking it against theratchet and having a lower upwardly projected hook-member, and alatch-bar on the car having a. downwardly projected hook-member tointerlock with the hookmember on the dog; substantially as set forth.

3. Car door operating gear comprising a main operating shaft having aratchet, a pawl on the car to engage said ratchet for locking said shaftagainst rotation, a dog engaging said pawl for locking it against theratchet and having a hook-member, and a latch-bar on the car having ahook-member to interlock with the hook-member on the dog, said latch-barbeing pivotally mounted on a bolt on which it is also slidable;substantially as set forth.

4L. Car door operating gear comprising a main operating shaft having aratchet, a pawl on the car to engage said ratchet for locking said shaftagainst rotation, a dog engaging said pawl for locking it against theratchet and having a lower upwardly projected hook-member, and alatch-bar on the car having a downwardly projected hook-member tointerlock with the hookmember on the dog, said latch-bar being slottedand mounted lon a bolt extending through said slot, whereby it becomesboth pivotally and slidably secured; substantially as set forth.

5. Car door operating gear comprising a main operating shaft, a gravitypawl for locking said shaft against rotation, a gravity dog for engagingsaid pawl and holding it in operative position when the car is normallyupright, and means for preventing said dog from releasing said pawl whenthe car is inverted; substantially as set forth.

6. Car door operating gear comprising a main operating shaft, a gravitypawl for locking said shaft against rotation, a gravity dog for engagingsaid pawl and holding it in operative position when the car is normallyupright, and means for preventing said dog from releasing said pawl whenthe car is inverted, said means comprising a hook-member on said dog anda pivoted and slidable latch bar having a hook-member to engage thehook-member on said dog; substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, this 24th day of August A. D. 1910.

BENJAMIN A. HEGEMAN, JUNIOR. Vitnesses CHAS. C. GILI., ARTHUR MARION.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

